Damsel in Distress
by Omicron Epsilon
Summary: Set in the medieval ages. Princess May is captured and brought to the fierce sandstorms of Doom Desert. Who shall be able to save her? Advanceshipping with bits of Contestshipping.
1. The Capture of a Princess

**Hi! This is my first fic, so please enjoy! And to clear this up, this is not a contestshipping fic even if it is in the beginning. I will only support advancedshipping.**

**I do not own Pokemon in any way.**

"My lord! I have finally done it!" exclaimed Scholar Samuel Oak as he rushed towards the throne room where King Norman Maple was seated.

Throwing up a red and white capsule, a bright and white light filled the large room and released a small and blue turtle we know as Squirtle.

The entire royal court immediately broke out in loud cheers towards the scholar's amazing accomplishment.

"So, Oak, is Squirtle the only one so far?" questioned Norman as the excitement died down.

Oak felt around for the other 6 capsules (which are basically pokeballs if you haven't figured out yet) he made but felt nothing.

"Ah- it seems I have misplaced the rest of my batch, please excuse me your majesty." explained a slightly panicked Oak.

"It's alright Oak, just prepare more batches for kingdom wide distribution!" exclaimed King Norman.

"Right away your majesty!" said Oak as he rushed towards his lab once more.

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle…

Princess May enjoyed this beautiful day, especially a day without Prince Max and his notorious pranks. Or at least there wasn't a prank so far. Hearing a clank  
of heavy armor from behind, she turned around and saw a knight with green hair.

She smiled as she saw him and asked, "Sir Drew, what brings you out to the garden?"

Sir Drew coolly replies "Only to see you beautiful face my lady."

Princess May turned red at the sound of the compliment and giggled at Sir Drew.

Drew handed the still red Princess May a rose and started to walk away. When suddenly a Banette and a Cacturne flank May and an Ariados grabs her with a  
quick String Shot. May screams and Drew whips his head around to see Ariados scuttling away.

"No, May!" exclaims Drew as he starts to run after the Ariados. But the Cacturne and Banette quickly blocked Drew from proceeding any further. Without any of  
his Pokemon, Drew slowly backed off and ran towards the throne room.

"My lord! Th-There's been a h-huge cr-crisis !" stuttered Sir Drew as he rushed towards King Norman.

"What! Speak up! What has happened!" demanded King Norman.

"It's Princess May! She's been captured!" Drew managed to stutter out before completely breaking down in hysteric sobs.

"What! And you didn't do anything about it! Why!" exclaimed King Norman as he began to panic.

Drew only managed to stop sobbing for a moment to reply, "The Cacturne was really s-scary?"

An enraged Norman could only manage to scream, "Why you- Your proposal to May means nothing now! Whoever shall get her back shall get her hand! Make  
this a kingdom wide announcement!"

This only made Drew sob even harder and he started to slowly crawl away. But from behind one of the great pillars of the throne room, a boy around the age of 16 listened in on the entire conversation. He was wearing extremely patched and worn clothes and his hair was filthy and looked like a bird's nest.

As he silently crept away, he said, "Let's go Pikachu."

**So, what did you guys think? If you guys haven't already figured out, the boy behind the pillar was Ash but I'm pretty sure most of you guys know. **

**Here are some ages in this story:**

**Drew- 17 (Can knights really be 17? For the purposes of this story, yes.)**

**May- 16**

**Max- 12 (He will be needed later on.)**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Enter the Forest of Bugs

**Hi! This is the second chapter and unfortunately, school will be starting soon and I won't be able to update as much. But I will update when possible! Enjoy and I do not own Pokemon in any way.**

Ash strolled down the streets towards the inner city wall with Pikachu on his shoulder. Finally able to push past the sheer amount of people crowding the dirt roads of the shabbier part of the city, Ash managed to reach the exit to the city. Walking along the rugged country road, Ash passed by the graveyard where his mother was buried. At the sight of his mother's grave he began to tear up.

**Flashback**

_Ash looked towards his mother who was lying weakly in bed. They both knew that Delia Ketchum's time to pass away was near. It was terrible. The flu spread across the land of Hoenn killing many who lived in the countryside. The only towns unaffected were Fallabor and Lavaridge Town which were far up north and had few visitors in the bitter winters. Along with every other family in Hoenn, the Ketchum family was struck down as well. Ash had managed to make a full recovery, but unfortunately, Delia was unable to fight the flu and grew weaker daily._

"_Mom- it's going to be alright-"Ash faltered since he knew Delia had no hope._

"_No Ash, my time has come," Delia said with tears in her eyes, "but you can't quit life because I'm not there. I'm sorry I won't be there with you, but I'm sure Pikachu can take care of you. Right Pikachu?"_

_Pikachu quickly nodded yes as Ash started to cry._

_Delia gave a sudden spasm and with her dying breath said, "Ashykins- I love you and- don't for-forget to change your underwear!"_

_And with a shudder, Delia Ketchum passed away._

**End of Flashback**

Ash had tears swell up in his eyes, but then he wiped them away and continued on with his journey and started to approach his first obstacle, The Forbidden Forest. The forest was closed off many years ago when a child playing in the forest was slaughtered viciously by a swarm of rouge bug type Pokemon. Approaching a gap in the densely packed trees, Ash was halted by two guards.

"Halt! Sorry, but unless you can beat one of us in a Pokemon battle, you will have to back away from the forest. The wild Pokemon in there are very dangerous!" commanded the guard.

Ash smirked. He might be poor and looked pathetic, but his years of training in solitude after his mother's death gave him battling skills that were as strong as the king himself.

"Go on Pikachu, you haven't had a battle in quite the while." Ash commanded.

"Alright then!" said the guard on the left, "Go, Zigzagoon!"

A Zigzagoon popped out of a Pokeball (which are now being mass produced) and stood by the guard.

"Alright, Pikachu! Take out that Zigzagoon in one hit! Quick Attack!" commanded Ash.

The guard, surprised at Pikachu's immense speed was caught off guard when his Zigzagoon did fain in one hit.

"Ahh! I lost you can go through." declared the still surprised guard.

Ash nodded in thanks when suddenly, a large gust of wind whipped around, revealing the pokeballs on his belt. The guard looked suspiciously since pokeballs were only distributed to the armed forces in Hoenn. But Ash didn't know this yet.

"Hey, where did you get those pokeballs?" asked the guard.

"Oh- these? I found them in a dropped sack in the middle of the road." Replied Ash, who was telling the truth. He did find these, they were dropped by Oak.

"Liar! You're under arrest!" yelled the guard as the other guard came over with handcuffs, prepared to get Ash.

Ash's eyes widened in fear as he was falsely accused. He quickly skirted the second guard while Pikachu shocked the first. In panic, Ash ran into the forest with  
Pikachu right behind his trail.

After a distance into the forest, Ash stopped running to find that the soldiers were not chasing him at all. Looking around, all he could find were trees and dead  
leaves. No sight of wild Pokemon at all. Ash continued to try and navigate the forest with no luck at all. Within 20 minutes, Ash was clearly lost. Finally finding the road again, only to find that it lead to a clearing.

"Well, this place looks like a good place to rest Pikachu." Stated Ash as he sat down upon a log in the middle. When suddenly, a mix of Dustox, Beedrill, and Combee encircles the traveling duo. As ash was about to run away on foot, a group of Whirlipede surrounded them, preventing any means of escape (Let's just say Pokemon of all regions are spread across the world for the sake of this fic.). And to top things off, a huge Vespiquen who was obviously the leader was getting ready to use an Attack Order.

"So that's why these bug types are considered rogue." muttered Ash as he reached for his last hope, counterattacking.

"Alright then, I choose you!" yelled Ash as he threw the Pokeball.

Meanwhile, an Ariados, a Banette, and a Cacturne had finally made it back with their hostage. May had a look of pure terror as she entered a huge tower in the middle of the desert, hidden from view by the fierce sandstorms. She continually prayed to Arceus that Drew would be able to save her and tried to believe it. Of course, that small hope was dashed when she saw the numerous army of Cacturne in the tower. Finally approaching a dim and smelly room larger than the rest, she was freed from the nasty String Shot. The Ariados scuttled away and the Banette floated out. Only the Cacturne remained, approaching the figure sitting upon a dusty throne. The figure had its back turned which only added to May's ever increasing fear.

Finally, the figure spoke, "Oh May, we meet again! Revenge shall certainly be sweet!"

**How's that for a double cliffhanger? Who can guess the main antagonist in this story? It shouldn't be too hard. There are already a lot of hints in the story. Well, thanks for reading and please review!**


	3. The Formation of the Trio

**Hi! Ch.3! I finally have time to start this chapter due to the Labor Day weekend! Enjoy!**

**I do not own Pokemon.**

Charizard appeared in a flash of light by Ash's side. Then Pikachu jumped from his shoulder and growled fiercely, cheeks sparking dangerously. The two Pokemon  
faced the mass of bug Pokemon. And then Vespiquen called out an Attack Order and all of them charged.

Ash reacted instantly, calling out, " Ok then, Charizard, Flamethrower the ones on the ground! Pikachu, use Thunder the bugs in the air!"

The two Pokemon quickly executed both powerful attacks, driving the wild bug Pokemon back. Charizard let loose another Flamethrower, pushing the hesitant insects back even more. Finally letting loose a Fire Blast combined with a Thunderbolt, which forced the nervous bug types to retreat.

"Well that was easier than expected, I wonder why they would restrict the forest to most people?" Ash wondered as Charizard was returned.

Pikachu hopped back upon Ash's shoulder as they continued to traverse through the forest. Finally finding the extremely overgrown and unused main road, they quickly neared the other edge of the forest. Of course, trouble just had to strike near the end.

The group of bugs that attacked earlier came back, this time with plenty of reinforcements. In the front now stood a Scizor, Heracross, Pinsir, and Galvantula. From the left came a Volcarona and Ninjask. From the right came an Accelgor and an Escavalier. But most terrifyingly of all, came dropping in from the trees. Landing only a few feet from them was a Genesect.

"So that's why they closed down this forest…" grumbled Ash.

"Alright! Charizard, use Mega Punch on Genesect!" commanded Ash.

Charizard raised one glowing fist and slammed on Genesect's face. Genesect flew backwards, slamming into a tree. But it immediately got up, barely fazed by the Normal type attack. Then it ordered the rest of the insects to attack.

"I guess we have no choice! Infernape, I choose you!" yelled Ash as he threw out another Pokeball.

A bright light illuminated the dim forest and a brown monkey appeared with fierce flames atop his head. Infernape charged towards Escavalier and Accelgor, fists raised and glowing with the flames of Fire Punch. Charizard roared and turned to face Scizor, Heracross, and Pinsir, spewing out a powerful Heat Wave in the process. Then Pikachu jumped towards Galvantula, charging forward with Quick Attack. But then things went wrong. Galvantula shot out a Sticky Web, ensnaring Pikachu. Although Charizard and Infernape had a type advantage, they were surrounded and slowly being overpowered. But to top things off, Ash had forgotten about Volcarona and Ninjask. So while Volcarona and Ninjask each distracted Charizard and Infernape, Galvantula trapped them with more Sticky Webs. So Ash was pushed up against the tree, helpless to do anything against the bugs. Genesect charged a Techno Blast, ready to be fired when someone exclaimed, "Quick! Steelix! Use Fire Fang on Genesect!"

A Steelix charged into the middle of the field, knocking over many of the bug types and freeing Charizard, Infernape, and Pikachu from the Sticky Web before using Fire Fang on Genesect, dealing massive damage. Charizard and Infernape got up, filled with rage, spewing Flamethrowers at all the bug types they could find, completely eliminating them until only a badly damaged Genesect was left.

Genesect shot forth a weak Signal Beam towards them which didn't even reach the Pokemon before Genesect too collapsed. A tall man with eyes that appeared to be closed was followed by a young boy wearing glasses. The man was wearing tan traveling pants, an orange shirt and a green vest. The boy was wearing dark brown shorts and a green shirt with a white stripe in the center. Then the tall man spoke.

"Are you alright?" he asked coming forward from the exit of the forest. The boy followed the man, both of them taking off their packs.

Ash replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." brushing himself off, " Uh- My name's Ash, Ash Ketchum."

" My name's Brock Stone." introduced the tan man.

Then the small boy introduced himself, " My name's Max Maple."

Ash's eyes widened in shock. "Wh-What! The Crown Prince! What are YOU doing HERE!" he shouted in surprise.

Max sheepishly grinned and started to explain, " You see, after my sister disappeared, the castle got REALLY boring. There was no one to prank or tease anymore."

Brock grumbled, " So he targets me, completely interrupting my flirting schedule."

Ash's eyes widened, " What!?"

Max laughed loudly before continuing, " So one night, I decided to try and sneak out and go on an adventure. But Brock, being my 'responsible supervisor' , somehow  
figured my plan and followed me all the way to the vast plains. I refused to go back to the castle with him because I wanted my life to be interesting again. So Brock gave up trying to convince me but came with me instead saying it was his job to look after me. And here we are! But why were you in the forest? You almost died there!"

Brock added, "It was a good thing we were nearby when you battle started. We looked around for where the commotion was. You see, we can't have anyone know Max is here and make him go back castle."

"Oh, it's ok then, your secret identity is safe with me! And I was in the forest because I thought it was the best path. I didn't know the plains worked." replied Ash.

"I see. Well, where are you going then Ash?" asked Brock.

"Oh, I'm going to Doom Desert to train my Pokemon. It seems like tough Pokemon are there, not to mention the fierce sandstorms are great for stamina training!"  
answered Ash with an excited voice.

"DOOM DESERT! Don't you know that's where the Evil Cacturne Jester resides!? Also, he's keeping May in there!" exclaimed Max.

Ash sweatdropped, " You mean Har-"

"Don't say it! There's a curse with the name!" screamed Max.

Ash sweatdropped again, "Really! Harley-"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Max as he dropped knees covering his ears with his hands as if something very traumatizing had just happened.

This time both Ash and Brock sweatdropped. Then Max slowly got up looking very much in shock. Brock sighed and took out a piece of candy putting it in front of the traumatized boy's face. Max's face immediately lit up and he ate the candy faster than a Ninjask can fly.

Then Max looked towards Ash and asked, " So, since all three of us traveling towards Doom Desert, why don't we go together?"

Ash smiled and replied, " Sure, and I can help you save your sister too."

Max grinned and then said," Great! And you can marry her as well!"

Ash's eyes widened and exclaimed, " WHAT! Are you kidding!"

Max burst out laughing at Ash's response and said, "Of course not! You think I want an arrogant jerk like Drew to be my brother in law? He's so mean to me!"

Brock had been watching the two talk for quite a bit in silent amusement until he said, " C'mon Max, we gotta go, we shouldn't camp near this forest tonight."

Max sighed, "You're right. Ash, would you like to travel with us?"

Ash thought for a moment and then replied, " Well, alright. Let's get going. Charizard, Infernape return!"

Max's eyes shone in delight and squealed, " Yes!"

Then the trio exited the forest, spotting a mountain a few miles ahead. Snow was at the very top and a fierce blizzard brewed at the very top.

Ash looked at the top and replied, " We have to cross that mountain don't we?"

Brock replied, " It's our only choice, the surrounding passes have been blocked by Avalanche and Rock Slide. Many wild Rock and Ice type Pokemon reside nearby. So yes, we need to cross Mt. Silver."

Ash could only shudder at the thought.

**So what do you guys think. I know its not Labor Day anymore but that's because I ran out of time on Labor Day and just got the opportunity to finish up the chapter. I know I messed up the geography and put Mt. Silver on the border of Hoenn, but it's supposed to be like that for the purpose of the story. I also managed to change the summary because I realized it sounded extremely lame. I'm sorry for that! Well I hope you guys enjoyed and please review, it really helps! **


	4. That One Chapter

**Hello and welcome to Chapter Four! I really appreciated the reviews I got from the last chapter. Thanks! Also, questions given in the reviews will be answered at the end of chapter author's note. Enjoy! **

**I do not own Pokemon in any way possible( even though I wish I did).**

The newly formed trio of adventures continued towards the base of the mountain after exiting the forest full of Bug- Type Pokemon. A light breeze blew through the barren plains in which surrounded them all around. After walking along for many hours through an endless sea of dry grass, Brock announced for them to start setting up camp.

"Yes! Finally, my legs are killing me!" exclaimed Max as he just plopped down on the spot he used to stand upon.

Brock sighed and brought out leftover berry stew in an iron pot. "Sorry it's cold, but we can't light a fire in the middle of the plains."

Max and Ash simply shrugged and started to eat. Then, Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and said, "Pika, pika."

Ash looked up and then facepalmed. Taking some Razz Berries from his pack, he handed them to Pikachu. Soon, they finished and taking out some quilts, quickly fell asleep after the long and tiring day.

The sun had barely risen, but the thundering sound of trampling hooves awakened them soon enough. Ash quickly jolted from sleep and then violently shook Max awake. Brock was also up, and started to rapidly throw things into his pack before sealing it shut. Max and Ash each shouldered their packs before Pikachu jumped upon Ash's shoulder. Then, they ran from the horde of panicked wild pokemon who were running from a giant herd of enraged Bouffalant chasing after the pokemon.

Sprinting across the barren plains with the Bouffalant ever closer to them, they reached a wide and deep river. Not daring to jump in the trio stopped and looked on fearfully at the horde of panicked and infuriated pokemon. So Ash swiftly grabbed a pokeball and releasing a Lapras, he commanded, " Hurry and get on!"

Max and Brock didn't hesitate at all and jumped on Lapras' sturdy back. Then, Lapras started to swim. The Bouffalant quickly came to stop, skidding just to the very edge of the water before stopping.

"Whew! That was extremely close! But Ash, why didn't you tell us you had a Lapras?" Max questioned in a loud voice.

"I felt no need to, besides, how did a river appear in the middle of a dry and barren plain?" replied Ash, yelling the last part.

Brock, looking at his ever trusty map said, " It's not on the map, we'll need to report this when we get back."

"I see…" was the only thing Ash could say before falling silent once again.

Finally, Lapras landed on the other side and the trio swiftly got off before Ash returned Lapras.

"Thanks Lapras, take a rest."

Then Max pointed out into the distance, " It's a small town up ahead! Let's go!"

Brock shook his head at his map in disbelief saying, " Man this map is really outdated!"

The trio continued along some ways before arriving at the outskirts of town. Walking through the barren streets, the nearby houses all shut their windows as they passed.

"Dang, there's no Berry Market or Pokemon center(without the technology obviously)." stated Ash when they reached the other side of the town in a mere ten minutes of walking.

" I know, there's something wrong here." replied Max.

" I know what's wrong around here." growled a mysterious voice from behind them.

The trio swiftly turned around spotting a gang of thugs all sporting various water type pokemon.

"But it'll be ok once you fork over all your pokemon!" growled the leader in a fierce tone.

Ash snorted. He certainly didn't take orders from people like the thugs, but nobody threatens his pokemon. " Pikachu, go get them!"

"Ha! A mouse against all these pokemon?" replied the leader of the gang, indicating all the water types, " Attack then! Destroy that mouse!"

Ten huge streams of water blasted towards Pikachu, but it didn't fear the water at all. Ash also smirked, then commanded, " Alright Pikachu, use Counter Shield!"

Pikachu started to spin rapidly while releasing bolts of electricity everywhere. the lightning ripped apart the Hydro Pumps, making the water rain as a fine mist. The leader of the gang could only gawk at the sheer amount of power before seeing all of his pokemon get shocked and drop to the ground in unconsciousness. The leader trembled in fear from the power of Pikachu. Returning his unconscious pokemon, he only managed to stutter incomplete and incomprehensible words before running off with a high pitched scream. The rest of his gang soon followed.

"Well that was pretty easy." stated Ash.

"WOW! That was amazing! Did you see how one thunderbolt took out the leader's Feraligatr? Did you?" screamed Max as he tugged on Brock's left arm.

"Yes, I saw it Max! Wow, Ash. How did you get so good?" asked Brock.

"It wasn't that impressive! I had a type advantage…" replied Ash while rubbing the back of his head.

"What?! Don't be humble!" Max yelled at Ash.

"Ok… Does it matter? We should get moving." replied Ash.

Brock suddenly straightened a little, " Ash is right we should get moving, we are at the base of Mt. Silver now and those thugs could come back."

And so the trio started up the trail slowly climbing the looming mountain. After a few hours of climbing, the three reached a wide plateau where they could rest. Sitting down on a few flat stones, Brock brought out several berries, passing them around. That's when the Rock types decided to attack. Ash immediately stood up, grabbed a Pokeball, and chucked it. Out came a Sceptile, who raised a Leaf Blade and slashed it at the nearest Golem.

Max and Brock immediately shouldered their packs and moved behind Ash. Then Brock threw a Pokeball. " Go! Forretress!"

Forretress appeared, and immediately rammed a Gyro Ball into a nearby Golem who was ready to deliver a powerful Fire Punch at Sceptile. But a wild Tyranitar rushed at Forretress, quickly knocking it out with its own Fire Punch. Only Sceptile was left, valiantly knocking Golems, Gigalith, and in one case, a powerful Onix. Soon, only Tyranitar and Sceptile were left but the exhausted Sceptile collapsed trying to hold off a barrage of Dark Pulses. Ash grimaced then returned Sceptile. Just then, the sun set and a huge swarm of Zubat flew out past them as they entered the night sky. Blinded temporarily by the passing Zubat, Pikachu was helpless to act as Tyranitar charged up a powerful Hyper Beam and fired it at the trio.

As the inevitable neared, time slowed, then a blue sphere flew out from nowhere and stopped the Hyper Beam. Looking towards the direction of where the sphere came from, Ash spotted a man in a blue cloak next to what seemed to be Lucario.

"Alright Lucario! Use Bone Rush!" commanded the mysterious man.

A blue staff formed in the Lucario's paw, and it swiftly rushed the Tyranitar. Tyranitar was unable to move due to the Hyper Beam. Lucario slammed the staff into Tyranitar a few times before it fell down unconscious. Lucario returned to the cloaked man's side before the two walked towards the trio.

" Are you three alright?" the man asked, " My name's Riley and this is Lucario."

"We're fine, thanks for the help back there. My name's Ash and this is Pikachu." replied Ash.

"And my name's Brock and this is erm… Bob." added Brock while trying to quickly think of an alias for Max.

"Nice to meet you three Ash, Brock, and Max. I can sense when you're lying Brock. Plus, I've seen you before Max." replied Riley.

"I see…" Brock replied sheepishly.

"It's ok, I won't report this to the king unless he orders me to, so you should be fine. But why don't you guys come and stay at my place? It's not far." replied Riley.

"That would be great! Let's go!" exclaimed Max.

**And so concludes Chapter 4! I know it isn't very interesting since most of it was really just filler but I have planned something interesting for Chapter 5! So here are answers to questions that I got from the last chapter:**

**AdvanceLover: Ash does actually have a full team of six pokemon and Pikachu fills one of those spots. As for Mega Evolution, I am considering it… Should I? And what Harley is avenging himself for will be revealed later.**

**So one last question, I've already messed up the geography, so what region should be on the other side of ? Please leave it in a review!**

**Thanks for reading and please review! It helps alot!**


	5. Aura

**Chapter 5! It's been so long since I've updated… an entire month! Time went by really quickly! Life has been really busy but I hope it blows over by Thanksgiving. Happy early Halloween! As usual, I don't own Pokemon in any way.**

Riley's house seemed very small on the outside. The clay bricks that comprised of the walls of the house were extremely weathered and the mortar holding it together was starting to crumble. An odd stone doorway and a simple, wooden door was the only entrance to the interior. Riley opened the door so Brock, Max, and Ash could go inside. Brock and Max passed through the doorway with no problem. Ash, on the other hand, tried to take a step inside. He was promptly pushed back by a blue forcefield that suddenly appeared.

"What just happened?" Ash said confusedly to Riley.

"Interesting… You see, my doorway is special, you'll find that most Aura Guardians have a similar defense mechanism. Any unknown aura is not granted access into the house without my permission. But I had no idea you had aura…" Riley replied to the still confused Ash.

"Wow… I didn't know I had aura either…" replied a shocked Ash.

Riley lightly tapped the doorway and it quickly glowed faint blue markings before turning back to its worn, gray look.

"Okay, you should be able to enter the house now Ash." Riley told Ash.

Ash took a cautious step into the house, and sure enough, he entered safely. Riley then entered as well, then closed the door tightly. Within the house was as small as what the outside seemed, but it had a cozy feel to it. Glowing coals sat in the clay fireplace, which sparked into a good sized blaze with a few blows from Riley.

Then Riley spoke to the trio still awkwardly standing near the door, bunched up together, " Make yourselves comfortable, then we can talk Ash."

The three shuffled over to three chairs while Riley moved to a separate room, then brought out mugs of hot water.

"It's not much, but there never is much for one who wishes to train on Mt. Silver." said Riley to the trio.

Brock sipped the water and replied, " It's alright, thank you for the hospitality."

Then Riley said, " Well, I don't think staying in those caves for a night is a good idea, Mightyena often dwell there." Then, he continued, talking to Ash, " So, Ash, since you have Aura, I have an offer to make to you. How would you like to become my apprentice?"

Ash replied nervously, " Brock, Max, and I … we're occupied with some matters at the moment and they could take a while. I really want to take up your offer, but I can't just abandon Brock and Max."

Riley nodded, then said, " That's alright. Rescuing the Princess is probably more important than starting an apprenticeship anyway."

The trio's mouths dropped open and Max stammered, " Ho-How did you fi-find out ab-about that?"

Riley chuckled, then said, " What? Just because I train in the isolation of the mountains doesn't mean I don't hear the news! Besides, many rescue parties and solo adventurers have already passed through making a huge ruckus. Why do you think the wild mountain pokemon are so enraged?"

The shocked looks on the trio's faces soon turned into a look of comprehension when suddenly a loud knocking noise came from the door. A voice from  
the outside yelled, " Open up you pathetic Aura Guardian! We know you're in there!"

Riley's eyes widened and whispered urgently to the trio, " Quick! These guys use Aura, but they received the power from Giratina, not Arceus. You must go out to the back. There's a secret exit that will take you near the peak on this side. Cross the mountain, but beware, there's a guard and he won't let you through at this time of year without a battle. Hurry! The door will hold them only for so long."

Brock grabbed Max's hand and the trio raced to the back of the house and into the concealed tunnel. Many flights of stairs later, they heard an explosion coming from the tunnel and sounds of Riley shouting to Lucario. The trio raced out the tunnel and into the snowy outside. There, Riley's Lucario appeared in front of them suddenly, thrusting into Ash's hands a worn book, before flipping off the side of the cliff, not able to be seen from the flurries of snow.

Ash to a glance at the book, then shoved it into his backpack, before hiking up the snowy slope once more. Brock and Max followed behind tightly. Huge gusts of snow continually battered against the three travelers as they futilely tried to shield their faces with their arms. After a fierce struggle for many hours, the trio finally reached the peak. About fifty yards from them stood a man clutching a pokeball. Not saying a single word, he pointed at Ash.

"This must be the guard Riley mentioned…" Ash muttered so only the trio could hear him over the ever growing gusts of wind.

"You must be right- I think he's challenging you to a battle." Brock said in reply.

"I see- Very well then." Ash said, picking out a pokeball from his belt.

Then the man released his pokemon.

Many, many miles from the peak of Mt. Silver, May lay on the ground utterly exhausted. Her body was battered and scrapes across her entire body had just stopped dribbling blood. The dress she had worn when she was abducted was completely shredded and she now had to wear one of Harley's disgusting and foul smelling tunic.

May had been forced to endure hours of standing in the sandstorms in Doom Desert. The she ran through a huge maze, with invisible walls! The worst part was that the walls were extremely spiky. It was a miracle one of her eyes weren't poked out in those grueling hours running in to walls.

Now she lay on the cold stone floor of a tiny and barren cell in the huge tower. There was no bed or shower. Sand that had gotten into the loose tunic still greatly irritated her once tender skin. Then the thick iron door to her cell opened up. A dim light showed one of the Cacturne guards holding a battered girl. She was also thrown in and the door slammed shut.

May hurried to the girl's side, and turning her body over on the stone floor, looked over her. The girl was slightly shorter than her, and and had blue eyes. She was also wearing one of the loose tunics and sported many scrapes over her body.

Suddenly her eyes fluttered open and she managed to croak, " Where am I?"

May immediately replied," The dungeons of Harley."

"Oh, well my name's Dawn. I'm from Sinnoh." the girl replied.

"Ok, my name's May. I'm from Hoenn." May said uncertainly.

The two girls shook hands before the iron door opened again, but this time, Harley stood in the entrance.

"Get up, you filthy dogs! Time to work! But first, you have to get through the maze! The longer you take, the more work!" snarled Harley.

And so the struggle began again for May, but this time, she had a friend.

**Well? How was it? I pretty sure you guys already know who the "guard" is now. Riley will be back, but not until later. I am messing up the geography of the pokemon world further, so the other side is Sinnoh. Once again, please review, I really appreciate them and read them completely! Thanks!**


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